Everybody has those moments. 

The moments spent looking in the mirror, squeezing that little pouch of belly fat, wishing it would disappear. The moments spent incessantly counting calories, skipping meals or over exercising to insure the daily calorie limit is not exceeded. 

Unfortunately, for some people, there comes a point when it goes too far.  

Because of these concerns as they relate to college students, the Eating Disorder Coalition of Iowa, and the ISU Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness group are hosting National Eating Disorders Awareness Week at Iowa State. 

Students can participate in National Eating Disorders Awareness Week activities on campus from Feb. 19 to 27 in efforts to spread awareness and combat eating disorders within the ISU community.

“One of our primary goals this year is to reach more of the male Iowa State students,” said Michelle Roling, president of the Eating Disorder Coalition of Iowa and adviser of ISU Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness (BIEDA). “Eating disorders have traditionally been thought of as a female struggle, which is not true.”

Roling said 1 of 10 college students have an eating disorder and Iowa State has more than 3,500 students actively impacted.

The first event kicks off at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union with headliner Brian Cuban, who will present “Shattered Image: Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphic Disorder.”

“The stigma that eating disorders only affect women exists even though an estimated 10 million males are suffering from eating disorders in the U.S.,” said Rachel Dalton, sophomore in dietetics and co-president of BIEDA. “We hope that Brian’s presentation helps us to take another step toward one of our club’s goals: to destigmatize eating disorders while raising awareness.”

Body dysmorphic disorder is a chronic mental illness where a person cannot stop thinking about a flaw in their appearance, causing them to overly obsess about fixing this perceived flaw on his or her body that is either minor or completely imaginary, according to the Mayo Clinic.

After his 27-year-long struggle with body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorders and drug addiction — all of which almost caused him to end his life at 45 years old — Cuban has restored himself and dedicated his life to helping others do the same.

“I think it’s incumbent upon us to take the responsibility to be empathetic to their [those with any kind of disorder] suffering, so they know they’re not alone,” Cuban said on his website. “Whether it’s alcoholism, depression, addiction, eating disorders because from my personal experience, that was the first step for me to real recovery, to know I wasn’t alone.”

Roling said she predicts students will be a little surprised by Cuban’s presentation because his life so clearly demonstrates how cross addiction can happen from trying to remain a certain thinness or trying to obtain it.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), “large-scale surveys concluded that male body image concerns have dramatically increased during the past three decades from 15 percent to 43 percent of men being dissatisfied with their bodies.”

The increase in men dissatisfied with their bodies is partly because, like women, men are also frequently exposed to society’s expectations of maintaining a fit physique.

“In the quest to have the ideal body, it’s pretty easy to get addicted to other things,” Roling said. “It’s easy to get addicted to some form of street drug that has side effects of weight loss or addicted to steroids for the purpose of obtaining a buff look.”

NEDA states, “[t]hese portrayals present an extremely, and largely unattainable, muscular ideal male body type, which is equivalent to the unattainable thin female ideal perpetuated by Barbie dolls.”

Both Roling and BIEDA have said they are excited for the upcoming week.

Along with the excitement comes hope that students will learn to seek help immediately if they are struggling with any disorder — not just eating.

“While one aspect of our club is raising awareness for those struggling with eating disorders, we also focus on promoting self-love and acceptance,” Dalton said. “Many people have insecurities, and at these events, we hope to relay a message that encourages participants to embrace and celebrate their imperfections.”

BIEDA has been an organization at Iowa State for three years and continues to make positive impacts on the ISU community by having self-love activities around campus, such as its latest, ‘Be Your Own Valentine,’ which took place the Friday before Valentine’s Day weekend.

“We grabbed a lot of people’s attention with our free Dove candies famous for their positive quotes and offered them a heart shaped valentine saying ‘I love my blank’ and gave them the chance to fill in the blank,” Dalton said.

BIEDA has plans in the fall to hold its very own 5K with hopes to raise awareness and continue to grow as an organization at Iowa State.

If you need to seek help or want more information, visit ISU Student Services, edciowa.org or the ISU BIEDA Facebook page. For those wishing to seek help on campus, visit ISU Student Counseling Services from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walk-in appointments for new services are available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon Friday.

“The sooner you reach out for support, the greater your chances are of long-term sustained recovery,” Roling said. “Regardless of how long you’ve struggle with the disorder, it’s never too late to start recovery.”